Play Dirty

R

Released Jan 15, 1969

1h 57m

War

Adventure

List

100%

5 Reviews

Tomatometer

62%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

An out-of-his-depth oil executive, Capt. Douglas (Michael Caine), is ordered to guide a tough band of convicts, including the cynical and possibly treacherous Capt. Leech (Nigel Davenport), to destroy a Nazi fuel depot in North Africa during World War II. Though it's probably a suicide mission, it has to be completed. But the mission, the enemy and the brutal desert aren't the only things Douglas has to worry about, as it becomes clear that Leech is undermining his authority at every turn.

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Geo B

The film is interesting but delusional, the end of the film is very weak

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

08/29/23

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delysid d

i liked this movie which reminded me of the hill, the wind and the lion, lawrence of arabia and march or die. micheal caine made some OK movies, and some crap too like the bloody swarm

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/17/20

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Audience Member

During the North African Campaign in World War II, Captain Douglas (Michael Caine) is a British Petroleum employee seconded to the Royal Engineers to oversee incoming fuel supplies for the British 8th Army. Colonel Masters (Nigel Green) commands a special raiding unit composed of convicted criminals, and after a string of failures he is told by his commander, Brigadier Blore (Harry Andrews), that he must have a regular officer to lead a dangerous last chance mission to destroy an Afrika Korps fuel depot, lest his unit be disbanded. Despite Douglas' objections, he is chosen for his knowledge of oil pipelines and infrastructure. Douglas is then introduced to Cyril Leech (Nigel Davenport), a convicted criminal rescued from prison to lead Masters' operations in the field... "Play Dirty" is a different war movie with touch points of "The Dirty Dozen", however, "Play Dirty" has its own story to tell. The film is set in North Africa during World War II which I haven´t seen many war movies use as a backdrop. That´s a plus for me at least as this setting during World War II has always intrigued me. The film is anarchic, unheroic, ugly, selfish, brutal and not many characters you encounter in the film are very likeable. The film also shows the lack of rules and honour in war, and how war effect it´s participants. Michael Caine as Captain Douglas is not as powerful he usually is if you ask me, but still adds good weight to the film with his aura and presence. I would say that "Play Dirty" feels like a forgotten gem within the genre.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

Full Review

ashley h

Play Dirty is an excellent film. It is about Captain Douglas who is is the British army leader who is ordered to lead a band of mercenaries into the desert. Michael Caine and Nigel Davenport give fantastic performances. The screenplay is well written. Andre De Toth did a great job directing this job. I enjoyed watching this motion picture because of the adventure and drama. Play Dirty is a must see.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I can't understand why this movie is listed on this website as being released in 1969. I'll just have to go with what I know to be true. As a '70's movie, Play Dirty reflects all of the bitter values of post Vietnam America. Michael Caine is a member of the British SAS, who you might have learned about, or rather not learned about even if you watched it, from the TV show The Desert Rats. I don't know that much more about this British WWII unit except, from the movie version, that their efforts, in contrast to the popular TV show about the same subject,and to which this movie is an obvious response, are very unsuccessful. After many setbacks, the leader of Caine's unit persuades Caine and their mutual commander to undertake a mission which will be of either potentially suicidal failure, for those undertaking it, or war wining success. I don't like war movies in general but as a fan of the cynical '70's movies I found Play Dirty to be immensely entertaining. The title says it all about the tactics Caine and his sidekick, who is actually his commanding officer, display. None on Caine's team exhibit the all-American gunghoness displayed by say, John Wayne, and it's not just that they are British. They follow their mission to the end and not without inner conflict. Outside of their own emotions is the fact that they have set something in motion that they can't turn back from, it's not No Retreat No Surrender in the Van damme way, they simply have no choice in the matter. The anti-climatic ending is Hollywood's tribute to the state of affairs in the United States at the time. WWII is here just Vietnam again. During the Korean war, Hollywood looked at WWII differently.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Michael Caine stars as a officer engineer that must direct a group of specialists across the North African desert to takeout a Nazi fuel dump. Caine is always worth watching but it is a shame that he has doesn't have a film to support him. Nigel Davenport has a bromance with Caine throughout the movie and their relationship is kinda "gotta keep you alive, or I am gonna regret it." The movie is extremely dull, boring and doesn't have a pay off worthy of the time spent enduring the movie. Sigh! (1.5 out of 5) So Says the Soothsayer

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

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Andre de Toth

Director

Michael Caine

Capt. Douglas

Nigel Davenport

Capt. Cyril Leech

Nigel Green

Col. Masters

Harry Andrews

Brig. Blore

Bernard Archard

Col. Homerton

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Fred Camper

Chicago Reader

Arguably de Toth’s greatest American film...

Jun 15, 2022

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Often unfairly dismissed as a British rip-off of 1967's The Dirty Dozen, Play Dirty is instead its own nasty little beast.

Rated: 3/4

Sep 19, 2021

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Nathanael Hood

The Retro Set

Positively giddy in its nihilistic misanthropy...

Rated: 7/10

Dec 29, 2018

Full Review

Christopher Lloyd

Sarasota Herald-Tribune

A fine, memorable performance by Nigel Davenport, as a man who's as calculating as he is black-hearted. He works for the Brits, but one senses that if the Germans offered him more money, switching sides would pose no dilemma.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 25, 2011

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

The pic more than holds its own with The Dirty Dozen , in fact I enjoyed it more and found it more subversive.

Rated: B+

Apr 26, 2011

Full Review

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Synopsis

An out-of-his-depth oil executive, Capt. Douglas (Michael Caine), is ordered to guide a tough band of convicts, including the cynical and possibly treacherous Capt. Leech (Nigel Davenport), to destroy a Nazi fuel depot in North Africa during World War II. Though it's probably a suicide mission, it has to be completed. But the mission, the enemy and the brutal desert aren't the only things Douglas has to worry about, as it becomes clear that Leech is undermining his authority at every turn.

Director: Andre de Toth
Screenwriter: Melvyn Bragg, Lotte Colin, Andre de Toth
Distributor: United Artists
Production Co: United Artists
Rating: R (A Sexual Assault|Violence)
Genre: War, Adventure
Original Language: English (United Kingdom)
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 15, 1969, Limited
Release Date (DVD): Apr 24, 2007
Runtime: 1h 57m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)